Tuesday, March 29, 2005

RIAA Targets Princetonian Private File-Sharing Network

The RIAA has sent a set of pre-subpoenas for copyright infringement to several students from Princeton University. Nothing new, be it that the file-sharing and alledged copyright infringement happened on a private network: "The students targeted were apparently using a file-sharing program called i2hub, which runs off the private Internet2 network accessible only to 206 member colleges and affiliated institutions."

Earlier RIAA lawsuits were targeted at public file-sharing networks such as Grokster, but this latest action shows how the RIAA is infiltrating the "private" sphere to come down on illegal music sapping. The RIAA must have had access to the private network, for example through a local computer, though it is unclear how exactly. The more paranoid might start to imagine assisted enforcement by a Princeton mole, but there must be a logical technical explanation for RIAA's access. Would the RIAA also have to explain an unauthorized access issue in this case?